Maximum carbon uptake potential through progressive management of plantation forests in Guangdong Province, China
Abstract Forest cover in Guangdong Province, southern China, has doubled over the last four decades. A large proportion of these forests consists of young planted forests (PFs), which have significant potential as carbon sinks. Yet given the declining carbon accumulation rates as forests mature and...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Nature Portfolio
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Communications Earth & Environment |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-024-01977-5 |
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| author | Xueyan Li Chongyuan Bi Jianping Wu Chaoqun Zhang Wenting Yan Zhenzhen Xiao Ying-Ping Wang Jiashun Ren Yongxian Su |
| author_facet | Xueyan Li Chongyuan Bi Jianping Wu Chaoqun Zhang Wenting Yan Zhenzhen Xiao Ying-Ping Wang Jiashun Ren Yongxian Su |
| author_sort | Xueyan Li |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Forest cover in Guangdong Province, southern China, has doubled over the last four decades. A large proportion of these forests consists of young planted forests (PFs), which have significant potential as carbon sinks. Yet given the declining carbon accumulation rates as forests mature and limited land for further planting, how best to manage these forests to maximize their future carbon uptake remains poorly studied. Here we employed fine-resolution satellite data, forest growth models, and machine learning to identify key drivers of carbon accumulation. Terrain variables were identified as the most important drivers, followed by climate conditions and soil nutrients. We further assessed the carbon sink potential under five forest management scenarios, each involving different harvest and regeneration strategies. Our results indicate that under the optimal scenario with the highest carbon sink potential, harvesting PFs over a 20-year period and progressively replanting each year could yield a potential carbon stock of 0.53 ± 0.01 PgC by 2060, without expanding forest cover. This represents 2.5 times greater than the baseline scenario, where all PFs and are simply preserved. Our findings suggest that a progressive management approach with a well-planned rotation period could significantly enhance carbon sequestration in planted forests. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-576ad503e261494f9a703ec861898eda |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2662-4435 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Communications Earth & Environment |
| spelling | doaj-art-576ad503e261494f9a703ec861898eda2025-01-12T12:41:09ZengNature PortfolioCommunications Earth & Environment2662-44352025-01-01611910.1038/s43247-024-01977-5Maximum carbon uptake potential through progressive management of plantation forests in Guangdong Province, ChinaXueyan Li0Chongyuan Bi1Jianping Wu2Chaoqun Zhang3Wenting Yan4Zhenzhen Xiao5Ying-Ping Wang6Jiashun Ren7Yongxian Su8Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Remote Sensing and Geographical Information System, Guangdong Open Laboratory of Geospatial Information Technology and Application, Guangzhou Institute of Geography, Guangdong Academy of ScienceGuangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Remote Sensing and Geographical Information System, Guangdong Open Laboratory of Geospatial Information Technology and Application, Guangzhou Institute of Geography, Guangdong Academy of ScienceGuangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Remote Sensing and Geographical Information System, Guangdong Open Laboratory of Geospatial Information Technology and Application, Guangzhou Institute of Geography, Guangdong Academy of ScienceGuangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Remote Sensing and Geographical Information System, Guangdong Open Laboratory of Geospatial Information Technology and Application, Guangzhou Institute of Geography, Guangdong Academy of ScienceSchool of Atmospheric Sciences, Sun Yat-sen UniversityGuangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Remote Sensing and Geographical Information System, Guangdong Open Laboratory of Geospatial Information Technology and Application, Guangzhou Institute of Geography, Guangdong Academy of ScienceTerrestrial Biogeochemistry Group, South China Botanic Garden, Chinese Academy of SciencesGuangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Remote Sensing and Geographical Information System, Guangdong Open Laboratory of Geospatial Information Technology and Application, Guangzhou Institute of Geography, Guangdong Academy of ScienceState Key Laboratory of Urban and Regional Ecology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Science, Chinese Academy of SciencesAbstract Forest cover in Guangdong Province, southern China, has doubled over the last four decades. A large proportion of these forests consists of young planted forests (PFs), which have significant potential as carbon sinks. Yet given the declining carbon accumulation rates as forests mature and limited land for further planting, how best to manage these forests to maximize their future carbon uptake remains poorly studied. Here we employed fine-resolution satellite data, forest growth models, and machine learning to identify key drivers of carbon accumulation. Terrain variables were identified as the most important drivers, followed by climate conditions and soil nutrients. We further assessed the carbon sink potential under five forest management scenarios, each involving different harvest and regeneration strategies. Our results indicate that under the optimal scenario with the highest carbon sink potential, harvesting PFs over a 20-year period and progressively replanting each year could yield a potential carbon stock of 0.53 ± 0.01 PgC by 2060, without expanding forest cover. This represents 2.5 times greater than the baseline scenario, where all PFs and are simply preserved. Our findings suggest that a progressive management approach with a well-planned rotation period could significantly enhance carbon sequestration in planted forests.https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-024-01977-5 |
| spellingShingle | Xueyan Li Chongyuan Bi Jianping Wu Chaoqun Zhang Wenting Yan Zhenzhen Xiao Ying-Ping Wang Jiashun Ren Yongxian Su Maximum carbon uptake potential through progressive management of plantation forests in Guangdong Province, China Communications Earth & Environment |
| title | Maximum carbon uptake potential through progressive management of plantation forests in Guangdong Province, China |
| title_full | Maximum carbon uptake potential through progressive management of plantation forests in Guangdong Province, China |
| title_fullStr | Maximum carbon uptake potential through progressive management of plantation forests in Guangdong Province, China |
| title_full_unstemmed | Maximum carbon uptake potential through progressive management of plantation forests in Guangdong Province, China |
| title_short | Maximum carbon uptake potential through progressive management of plantation forests in Guangdong Province, China |
| title_sort | maximum carbon uptake potential through progressive management of plantation forests in guangdong province china |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-024-01977-5 |
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